Love is Love
by WonderPickle
Summary: Ralph has a confession to make. One-shot.


**I don't typically write either of these characters, so I hope I did it alright.**

* * *

"Walter?"

The older genius glanced up from his desk. "Yeah, pal?"

Ralph spoke in a low voice. Quieter than usual. "Can I talk to you?" His head briefly peered over both his shoulders. "Privately," he muttered when his eyes shifted again to his mother's boyfriend.

Walter's expression became quizzical, but he nodded. "Uh, yeah, sure, of course."

Wordlessly, Ralph turned on his heel. Walter scooted his chair back, pushing himself upwards and following one pace behind.

He glanced momentarily around the space as he passed. Everyone was far too involved in their own tasks to notice. Even Paige, deep in conversation with Sly, didn't spare a glimpse.

Ralph really didn't seem like he wanted anyone to overhear. He rarely misbehaved, or had something to share without the other members of the group. So what could this be about?

He was flattered that the young boy wanted to speak with him and him alone, though he still felt like this was odd.

Walter certainly wasn't adept at reading people. But he'd picked up some things about Ralph over the years.

He almost appeared ashamed.

Once they reached the back of the garage, Ralph faced his mother's boyfriend again. Walter ceased stepping forward.

The words instantly fell from his lips. "What's going on?"

Ralph released an enormous sigh. "I have a confession."

"Alright…"

The boy breathed, raising his gaze. When speaking, he was typically confident. This was because he was rarely incorrect. But now there were crease lines in his forehead and quick movements in his chest. His fingers were fiddling with one another. This wasn't Ralph.

For once, Walter didn't have the slightest clue what was going on.

"I've been keeping this to myself for a while," Ralph claimed, almost hesitantly, and only loud enough for Walter to hear, "And...you're the first person I've spoken about this to."

"Whatever it is, pal," both curiosity and concern controlled the words departing his mouth, "you should just say it."

Ralph waited, allowing a silence to befall upon them. Walter couldn't tell if he were taking his time deciding whether or not he did truly want to share this, or if he was just tongue-tied. He dared to think the boy was almost presenting an unusual amount of vulnerability. "I'm not straight."

Walter blinked. Merely a quick glance at his stance proved that was false. "I don't understand," he responded, "Your body is perfectly vertical to-"

Ralph instantly shook his head. His gaze quickly scanned the area behind Walter, probably meaning he was confirming no one was in earshot. That didn't make much sense. How could his posture be information worth withholding?

Afterwards, the young boy proceeded to lean in closer, speaking even quieter than he had been. "No," he corrected, focused in on Walter, "I mean...I mean I don't like girls."

"Well, Ralph, girls have never been worth your time." He narrowed his eyes, befuddled.

Ralph huffed through his nostrils. He took a long pause as they continued to stare back at each other. "Walter," he replied, tone almost a whisper, "I don't like girls, because I like... _boys_."

Oh.

Well that certainly didn't explain why he'd brought Walter individually into the back of the garage, and been speaking in a hushed tone throughout their encounter. One's sexuality wasn't something that needed to be kept secret.

Was it?

Ralph was chewing on the inside of his lip. Walter should probably say something.

"I'm confused," he admitted, "Why did you feel the need to inform me in private?"

He swallowed. "Well...it's kind of a big deal."

"Not just something you could tell your mother?"

Intelligence peppered his sentence. "This isn't really your typical conversation starter."

Walter straightened his back, but kept his gaze focused on his girlfriend's son. "I can't fathom the reasoning behind that. It's just a fact about yourself."

"I can't predict what people will think about my proclamation."

"Of course not. People can be moronic." He frowned. All these years with Paige had taught him a few things. And he tried to put those tools to use when the situation called for it. "Are you...ashamed of this?"

Ralph's shoulders shrank. "I'm already far enough on the outside. This will just discourage more people from becoming my friend."

Walter's eyebrows furrowed. "That's absurd. Why would your sexuality prevent anyone from making your acquaintance?"

"I have to say I don't know." Ralph shrugged. Eyes wide, he blinked up at the older genius. Walter hated that he couldn't identify what was lingering in those pupils. "I'm scared to tell my mom."

Walter's lips parted. "Ralph, like I stated previously, it's just sharing a newly discovered fact. There's no logical point in fretting over it."

Ralph's eyes gaze fell to the floor. He began to gnaw on the inside of his lip again. Walter couldn't comprehend why this was so difficult for him. "I know my mom will still love me. But...I don't want her view of me to shift."

Walter wasn't the best person to have this conversation with. He should've gone to his mother. The older genius didn't know what to say.

Ralph was smarter than him. And he knew for a fact it was difficult to convince someone of higher intelligence of something, especially if you didn't comprehend it yourself.

Though, wasn't it Walter's responsibility to do the best he could?

A plethora of words formed a multitude of responses in his brain. He struggled to find the proper ones, as usual.

But the expression upon Ralph's face sunk in like a hook and reeled them out.

"Ralph…" he started, stumbling over his own tongue, "Your mom...she could never love you any less. Trust me." Walter exhaled. "She won't be ashamed of you. You shouldn't be ashamed of yourself." He reached to scratch the back of his head. "If being with her has taught me anything, buddy, it's that anyone can feel love. And uh, feelings can come from anywhere. It's much better to process those feelings than repress them. You don't need to hide this. Anyone who believes you should apologize for them is at fault. Not you."

Ralph sighed. "Maybe."

Walter pondered for a moment. "Why don't we tell her together? Perhaps then you won't be so frightened?"

Ralph had to take his time to give this thought. It worried his father figure to see him scared. It saddened him to see that Ralph thought his mother could in any way be ashamed of him. That could never be possible.

But then he nodded, and the tension in Walter's chest eased. "Okay."

Walter smiled. "Okay."


End file.
